Should The Sandlot’s TV Reboot Excite or Depress Me?

When I saw this, I felt a million different emotions. Excited, confused, depressed.. you name it. Would they all be reuniting and playing in a men’s beer league softball game? Would they just be reliving the glory days and telling stories to their kids like Grown Ups? Don’t even try to tell me Grown Ups isn’t a cinematic classic. It might not work well in this case but it’s fucking brilliant when Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade and Chris Rock are at the helm. Ever heard of them? Oh yeah, and the “YOU CAN DO IT!!!” guy from Waterboy is in it too. Yes, I know his name is Rob Schneider but it’s funnier to just call him the YOU CAN DO IT! guy because it was such a throwaway part that has pretty much become his most quoted line of his career. Well, except for this one.

It looks like we’re going to be getting a hybrid of my initial thoughts/fears.

This is actually a good route to go now that I think about it. They’ll be able to hit all angles. The nostalgia, the story telling to their kids, and I think we all know what else is coming… This show is coming 22 years later in the story line, so the guys will all be in their mid-30s. As someone who just entered their Scottie Pippen year, I can tell you these are interesting times. Mentally, you still think you’re at the top of your game. Not only are you not at the top of your game, but your body is deteriorating at a rapid pace. Seems like the perfect set up for MLB superstar Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez to be in the middle of or wrapping up his baseball career (depending on how the writers address a glaring error; more on that later) and getting the gang back together. There’s only one problem. Instead of dealing with nerds and untalented suburban kids, he finds out all of his old friends are fat, bald and can’t throw a baseball without wondering if they need shoulder surgery.

Other than the Jersey Shore castoff second from the left, I’m not sure how well these fellas would hold up on the diamond. Well, Kenny DeNunez can probably still bring the heat. He did play some minor league ball and looks like he’s still in pretty decent shape. The guy on the left looks like he should be in The Lumineers and the rest of them look like.. well, the rest of us.

The Sandlot was one of my favorite movies growing up. It might’ve been the most quotable movie during my childhood that wouldn’t result in detention or getting a nice talking to from the folks. (You’re looking at a bad boy who was disciplined on a few separate occasions for doing the DX “suck it”, sup). The ending where Benny Rodriguez was playing for his hometown Dodgers with Smalls doing the play-by-play was the perfect ending… unless you’re planning on writing a TV show about it 25 years later.

Once you get past the glaring error that the crowd shots are clearly from a night game and the play where he steals home happens during a day game, it’s quite the ending for Smalls and The Jet. Just a few unlikely pals that turned awkward introductions into a lifelong friendship.

The ending was just a massive spoiler alert for what happened later in their lives, and clearly took place in the 90s. Will Benny Rodriguez be in the middle of his MLB career or will he be retired? It will be interesting to see how they handle this in the TV show. Will they just forget this whole ending montage? Or will they use it as the inspiration for the TV show’s story line? I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to find out.

If they need any extras that can be a neighborhood dad that plays for a rival softball team or coaches the rival little league team they all get together to coach, I know where they can find a husky, balding, 33-year-old guy looking for his big acting debut… Plus I hear the SAG benefits are killer.